Secretary-general denies reports he told students during J'lem visit that there is bias in the UN against Israel.

NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon denied on Monday there is any bias
in the UN against Israel.

At a press “encounter” at the UN Headquarters
in New York, a reporter for Israel Radio pressed Ban about his comments last
Friday while meeting with students at the UN headquarters in
Jerusalem.

Ban simply said, “I don’t think there is discrimination
against Israel at the United Nations.”

He continued, “The Israeli
government maybe raised this issue that there’s some bias against Israel, but
Israel is one of the 193 member states. Thus, Israel should have equal rights
and opportunities without having any bias, any discrimination. That’s a
fundamental principle of the United Nations charter. And thus, Israel should be
fully given such rights.”

In Jerusalem last week, the secretary- general
reportedly admitted to students that there is bias against Israel in the
UN.

“Unfortunately because of the conflict, Israel has been weighed down
by criticism and suffered from bias – sometimes even discrimination,” Ban said
at the time, according to several media sources.

On Monday in New York,
Ban retracted these comments, and emphasized that “incitement against any group
of people, any religion or tradition… is unacceptable.”

At the same press
event, Ban also called the renewed Israeli- Palestinian talks a “fresh
opportunity for real progress,” and called on leaders from both sides to “seize
this historic opportunity.”

His statements were echoed by head of UNHCR
Navi Pillay, who expressed her enthusiasm for the renewed peace
talks.

Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the bombing of the Baghdad UN
Headquarters, an attack that killed 22 people, including the then-head of the UN
High Commission on Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, Pillay paid tribute to
her predecessor in her remarks to the UN Security Council.

The UN marks
August 19th as World Humanitarian Day.

Speaking via video conference from
Geneva, Pillay said that “the talks can only achieve tangible results if the
protection of human rights is placed at the center.”

During their meeting
on Monday morning to discuss the protection of civilians in armed conflict, an
item that has been ongoing on the Security Council’s agenda, Pillay added, “The
illegal blockade of Gaza that places restrictions on the enjoyment of
fundamental human rights must be lifted.”